Jake and the Opals

So enraptured was the orc that when the sorceress caught up to him, her words went unheard. Moving quickly, almost at a run, the sorceress had followed the direction his footprints led. Urgency dominated her thoughts as she pushed herself beyond her own endurance trying to catch up with the errant orc. Now as she gained up him, she was perplexed by his unresponsiveness. "Jake! Jake! Where are you going?!"

No reply did he offer as he marched steadily forward. The sorceress gathered the hem of her dress and dashed forward, closing the bit of distance that remained between them. Reaching out, she caught hold of his shoulder and was nearly dragged off her feet as the orc continued to march on. Shouting his name, the sorceress tried to reach through whatever held his mind. "Jake! JAKE!"

The orc stopped and turned suddenly, blank unseeing eyes meeting hers. To her eyes it seemed as if a shadow flitted across his eyes as the orc looked through her. Morgan shouted his name again, while grasping his other shoulder and shaking him. "Jake! Wake up! Jake!"

The urgency in her voice seemed to seep through whatever miasma held the orc's mind. A brief flicker of recognition seemed to reach him. His lips moved silently, mouthing words the sorceress could scarce make out. "Must stop him... must protect the gauntlet... must stop..." His whisper broke off, changing to a slow groggy recognition. "Morgan?"

The orc stumbled suddenly, his knees buckling for a moment. The sorceress did her best to steady him. "Jake...yes, it's me, Morgan. Jake, are you alright?" The concern in her voice was both for the dangers for this land and also for the orc whom she had befriended. She searched his face for another hint of the shadow which had seemed to cross his eyes. Locking her gaze into his, she spoke again. "Jake, what happened? Why did you leave without me?" Her eyes narrowed, the thought of some sorcery or enchantment ensnaring the orc worried her.

Jake seemed to regather his strength, pushing her hands away the orc turned back to the path he had marched so determinedly. For a moment his face fell into distance again. "I don't..." He turned back to her once more, his voice deepening into the more resonant tones she was accustomed to hear from the orc. "I am fine. I know not why I marched onward so." The orc shook his head, as if clearing it. Whatever remnant of shadow had remained seemed to depart his face. The orc's grey eyes locked with hers. "How far have I come?"

The sorceresses eyes searched the orc's features before answering. "Almost a day's march. Would that I could claim such endurance. Had I not found you I would most surely have had to stop and rest. Are all of your kin so hardy as you? You marched through the night and almost to midday." The sorceress gestured up into the gray sky, a faint brightening above hinted at the presence of the sun, although its light was unable to pierce the dark cloak which clung to the land.

After another glance to make sure the orc was not going to begin marching again, the sorceress gave in to her own exhaustion and settled upon a broken stone which lay to the side of the path Jake had followed. She groaned lightly as she massaged a foot. With grim humor she commented, "I must remember to bring more sturdy shoes the next time we walk Jake."

The humor was lost on the orc. He frowned in reply, "Are you unable to continue?" He kneeled at her side inspecting her shoe with a serious eye. The sorceress, tired as she was, could ill-restrain a small chuckle.

"Worry not, friend orc." Morgan smiled at the orc to reassure him. "I am merely tired. Doubly tired in that I had to draw upon my magics to bolster my poor human feet that I might catch up to you." She massaged her foot through the soft leather slipper she wore. Whispering quiet words to herself, the sorceress cast a small charm to counteract the miles of walking. There would be a cost later when she would need proper rest, but for now the pain eased.

Curiously, as she enacted her minor charm, the orc reacted. His eyes clouded for a moment, becoming almost black. Morgan's attention nearly slipped, but long years of practice kept her control, though another part of her mind watched the orc's reaction with interest. She knew of the orc's abhorence of magic, but this was different. It was almost a glimmer of interest, perhaps even of understanding and calculation. It was a look she had never thought to see cross the orc's face in response to magic.

Upon prior occasions, the orc had made quite clear his distrust of magic. Magic was not something the orc understood. She had even seen the hints of fear creep into the corners of the orc's eyes at the workings of more powerful magics. She surmised that the only reason he would touch the elven blade was that its magic, tied as it was to the blade, and to something the orc understood, battle, was what allowed the orc to handle it at all.

Testing her companion, the sorceress reached to her side, taking the sword back up from the ground where she had lain it when she sat down. "You forgot your sword. I brought it for you." She tendered the sword to him, watching to see his reaction.

The orc reached forward automatically, his gaze never falling upon the blade. A casualness the orc had never evinced in handling the blade. Instead he nodded and took hold of the grip. "My thanks for recovering it. I am sure I would have regretted its loss." As suspicious as the words he spoke were, the sorceress was even more startled to see the blade react to his grasp. A sheen of light seemed to flicker along the blade as the orc gained the weapon. Almost a flicker of fire it had been, though not quite. And yet the orc seemed oblivious to it. As if he were used to its peculiar reaction.

The sorceress was not sure what she had expected. A tiny corner of her mind had suspicioned that perhaps some evil spirit had possessed her friend, and yet could such a spirit have held the elven blade? The elves were reknowned for their blades which reacted so strongly to evil that they would often give sign of evil nearby to their wielders. An evil spirit possessing Jake should have sensed and avoided the blade for fear of being revealed? Was it possible the orc's odd behavior was due to some other cause?

Pushing the thoughts out of her mind for the moment, Morgan locked her eyes with the orc and smiled briefly. "Could we perhaps rest for a time? Not all of us are tireless orcs."